Northern League Division 1
23 April 2007
Bishop Auckland 0 :
Team: Chris Porter,
Adam Clough, Paul Harvey, Craig Winter, Paul Griffith (Paul Crager 68mins), Joe
Fairish (Bryan Stewart 62mins), Dale Mendum, Lee Johnston (Paul Collins
58mins), Daryll Evans , Robbie Clarkson
Bishops started their penultimate home game of the season
with a first competitive game against Benfield with a decent opening but
succumbed to the usual nightmares at the end of the first half, and struggled
to stay in the game in the second half.
Dale Mendum was very unlucky not to give Bishops the lead on
seven minutes with a hooked shot which hit the face of the bar.
The game was an even affair until Benfield took the lead on
28 minutes in freak fashion when a humped ball over the top bounced up and over
the advancing Porter allowing Chilton to race on and tap in from close range.
Immediately Bishops were back on the attack and after Parkin’s
shot was deflected to Mendum the winger fired in from the far post. The ball was blocked and spun into the air
with Plastic ‘keeper Grainger juggling the ball but catching it at the third
attempt.
Porter was guilty of another mistake on 30 minutes when he
left his box but fired a clearance low straight to an attacker, but the
goalbound effort was recovered by Griffith who retreated to head clear off the
line.
The game was virtually over deep into first half injury time
when
With ten men Bishops struggled through the second half and
even had to endure a long spell with only nine men when Winter went off injured
after all the substitures had been used, but some awful finishing meant the
result stayed unchanged.